Fantasy novelette written by Siobhan Carroll, edited by Ellen Datlow, and published on the Tor.com website in 2019.
Once upon a time, there was a poet in the 1700s named Christopher Smart. He was a fine poet but was considered something of a religious nut. And his father-in-law, John Newbery, used Smart's fondness for loud public prayer to get him committed to an insane asylum. While he was confined, he wrote a lengthy religious poem known as the Jubilate Agno; one section of the poem, probably the best known portion of the work, is a 74-line piece known as "For I will consider my cat Jeoffry," in which he sings the many virtues of his beloved cat.
Among the many praises Smart heaped upon Jeoffry: "For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.//For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.//For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness." and "For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.//For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.//For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life." and "For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.//For he can jump from an eminence into his master's bosom.//For he can catch the cork and toss it again." The section ends with "For he can swim for life.//For he can creep."
Siobhan Carroll's story is the secret truth behind why Smart loved Jeoffry so.
As the story begins, we find Jeoffry hard at work chasing imps and demons away from the asylum. But though he defends the whole building, he considers only one man truly His, and that is the poet, who heaps about him love and praise, and who is unduly bothered by creditors and demons, when all he wants to do is write the Poem of Poems that God Himself wants him to write.
But Satan has dire schemes in mind for the poet. He wants him to write a new poem, one which will completely unmake the world. The Devil knows he can never get to the poet with Jeoffry barring the way, so he sets out to tempt the cat with a vast feast of delicious food, all for him -- as long as he promises to stand aside and let Satan speak with the poet tomorrow evening. Jeoffry suspects evil at work -- but Jeoffry is a cat, and he is unable to resist such a fine feast of fish heads and cream and salmon skins.
But the Devil's feast is a lie, and leaves Jeoffry weak and nauseous, vomiting up dead leaves all over the asylum. And when he goes to the poet's cell to seek comfort, Satan casts him away, and then manages to persude the poet to write his evil poem for him. The poet is distraught -- but a deal is a deal, and no matter how much he wishes he couldn't, he still begins his work on his Creation-ending poem. Jeoffry goes to fight Satan for his mistreatment of the poet, but the Devil thrashes him terribly before taking his leave. Realizing that he can't beat the Devil, but still desperate to save the poet from destruction, Jeoffry must seek aid.
So Jeoffry recruits Polly, a pretty and wise cat, a former lover, who rules the courtyard of the asylum. And he recruits Tom, a proud tomcat who knows his way around a fight.
And he recruits the Nighthunter Moppet, a silly kitten who loves butterflies and pretty things and sometimes forgets herself and sits down in the middle of a dish of milk -- and a thoroughly deadly slayer, a seven-shadowed terror who has destroyed her way through uncounted mice and vermin and songbirds. The Nighthunter Moppet knows more about the arts of combat and murder than any creature alive, and knows they can't outright destroy Satan, but she knows another way to defeat him -- if only she could keep her desire to play with pretty beetles at bay to tell them the secret!
Is there hope for the poet? Is there hope for Jeoffry? Can four lowly cats defeat the Lord of Lies, save a poet's soul, and preserve the world?
Well, kids, I just adore this story. I love it because it was my introduction to Christopher Smart's life and works, and I love it because both Smart and Siobhan Carroll are so dang good at getting into the minds and behaviors of cats.
The characterization is superb. Jeoffry is brilliantly realized -- partly from Smart's own poetry, and partly from Carroll's extrapolation of his personality. Carroll's characterization of Satan, and his devilish and intelligent scheming are also fantastic. But the greatest character here -- possibly the greatest character ever -- is the Nighthunter Moppet. This is such a clear and perfect vision of a particular kind of cat -- big eyes, fluffy fur, rolling around in a sunbeam, big-stepping her way around the house, falling asleep in her food bowl, and also turning up in the backyard chewing her way into a pigeon's spinal cord and dragging a squirrel's corpse into the house to play with later -- simultaneously absolutely adorable and absolutely terrifying. Sure, it's probably not possible for any cat -- no matter how pretty or how bloodthirsty -- to destroy the Lord of Hell. But when this kitten leaps down at the Devil's head shrieking "I AM THE NIGHTHUNTER MOPPET!" one could easily see how Satan might get home at the end of the day and wish for a nice, long vacation to recuperate.
"For He Can Creep" was nominated for the 2019 Nebula Award and the 2020 Hugo Award, both for Best Novelette. It was also nominated for the 2020 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction. It won the 2020 Eugie Award, an annual juried award presented at Atlanta's Dragon Con. It was also adapted into the fourth season of the Netflix animated series "Love, Death and Robots," with the story adapted by fantasy writer Tamsyn Muir and directed by Emily Dean.
Wanna read it? Yes, of course you do. It's available for free on the Reactor website.
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